And no, “most people” won’t be using fast charging stations, they will be charging at home (it’s really the only was an EV makes economic sense for most). Even with a home level 2 charger (NEMA 14-50 240 volt - like a dryer plug) recharge times are between 10-15 hours. Again, overnight. That’s another hurdle the EV will need to solve.
Of the
3+ trillion miles Americans drive each year just under 2 trillion of those miles are 50 mile drives or less. Of the remaining trillion or so, 90% is less than 500 miles. (
Wish this was more granular.) So when we actually achieve 250 miles of ranges seems to cover most driving needs. And 500 miles would cover all but single digit exceptions.
(I hate mixing sources, so hopefully I did not pull apples and oranges with the numbers.)
Now I get that individuals give a disproportionate amount of weight to the exceptions so a 3% need (made up number) might tip the scales for a while due to human nature, but I think once economies of scale kick in and EV vehicle pricing starts to come into line with ICE the savings elsewhere starts to pay the cost for the exceptional needs.
Now I get that markets depend on a change in perspective for this work. But factually, an overwhelmingly number of Americans take very few trips that would not be satisfied with what is rolling out now. And give it a decade to double that range, and the need for more range is under the 5% threshold. That includes mid-westerners, rural Americans, etc. Sure perspective might take a bit longer to catchup, H.L. Mecken's attributed quote aside, I think when the products catch up Americans will figure it out pretty quickly. And the 95% is new sales, not what is on the road so we don't need 95% of Americans, just 95% of the subset buying new.